Congratulations to pre-eminent Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin, who has been appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day 2019 Honours List, one of the country’s highest honours for a citizen.
The Order of Australia recognises Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement.
Read more in Limelight Magazine and on ABC Classic websites.
Kats-Chernin’s music will feature this year in Lang Lang’s new double CD for Deutsche Grammophon, Piano Book, featuring an arrangement of Eliza Aria written especially for the Chinese superstar pianist (due out 29 March 2019): media release about the double album and accompanying book of music, published by Faber.
Elena also composes for Opera Australia’s new opera, Whiteley, on the life of iconic Australian artist Brett Whiteley, which receives its world premiere at the Sydney Opera House in July 2019:
“In 2019, this Australian icon meets two of Australia’s greatest artists in a brand new work for the Australian stage: Whiteley, by Elena Kats-Chernin and Justin Fleming.
Kats-Chernin is peerless among contemporary composers, celebrated for her enormous output and music that bursts with colour, life and tenderness. Fleming is a respected playwright and librettist whose work is renowned for its warmth, wit and poignancy.
Together they’ve created an opera to honour the life and work of a man who could not extricate his talent from his demons.
Production designer Dan Potra’s technology-driven set is an immersive world created from Whiteley’s most famous paintings. Experience the works of a modern master on moving, larger-than-life screens.”
Kats-Chernin’s music can also be heard:
- on the largest composer project in recording history: Bach 333 – The New Complete Edition, released by Deutsche Grammophon, in partnership with Decca and the Leipzig Bach Archive – and with the cooperation of 30 other record labels. Visit www.bach333.com
- on Spotify playlists: Deutsche Grammophon ‘Piano Melancholy‘
- on YourClassical playlist: Peaceful Piano
… also featuring works performed by pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska, from the chart no.1, ARIA-nominated album, Unsent Love Letters (ABC Classics | Deutsche Grammophon).